Why Are Richard Mille Watches So Expensive 2023? The Surprising Truth

Despite its relatively recent entry into the world of luxury timepieces, Richard Mille has quickly ascended to incredible heights of success. However, their lofty price tags never fail to stun. What makes Richard Mille watches command such exorbitant prices, then?

Alex Mille, the brand founder’s son as well as commercial director, answered this question by saying: “It’s time.” By that, he means the time consumed in developing and manufacturing each piece. Additionally, doing so in Switzerland also comes with a cost.

In this article, we address why Richard Mille watches are costly and answer some questions about this controversial watch brand.

So, keep reading.

Why Are Richard Mille Watches So Expensive? Why is Richard Mille overpriced?

Richard Mille uses highly trained professionals, technicians, and craftsmen to work on the development of its watches. With Switzerland’s high cost of living, these people don’t come cheap.

Moreover, in Richard Mille’s company, they work on each element individually, developing it from scratch. Each watch has a unique design, as they don’t even build on existing models.

A single design may have multiple prototypes and any small change can delay production by several months. That’s not to mention how high up a tourbillon can raise the price of any watch, which is present in many Richard Mille watches.

Moving onto the production process, these watches have hundreds of tiny components. It takes time and precision to assemble and and-finished each watch.

Is Richard Mille Worth It?

Not always – Richard Mille watches are sometimes too expensive.

One watch can have a shocking price tag of over $1 million. That doesn’t mean these watches are wrongfully priced, though. Each watch design takes a long time to come to light, sometimes too long.

Richard Mille watches usually contain highly innovative materials that take years of micro-engineering research. Take a look at some of the most unusual materials Richard Mille uses.

  • Silicon nitride
  • Carbon fused gold
  • Precious stones, like sapphire, rubies, and diamonds
  • Quartz fused gold
  • Other stones, like spessartite, spinels, tsavorites, pink opal, amethysts, lapis lazuli, hematite, malachite, and sugilite

Why Do People Buy Richard Mille?

For some people, Richard Mille watches may be overpriced. Yet, for others, it might be exactly what they want. This brand serves a specific level of demographic. The kind that wants to buy an expensive item to make the statement, “I have millions to spare.”u003cbru003eu003cbru003eThe Richard Mille brand knows exactly what buttons to push to keep buyers on the edge. The most important quality for most Richard Mille enthusiasts is exclusivity.u003cbru003eu003cbru003eEvery Richard Mille watch has an innovative, avant-garde design. Though it might not necessarily be more precise than other brands, a Richard Mille watch is a statement piece.

Is Richard Mille the Most Expensive Watch in the World?

The priciest Richard Mille watch costs $3.4 million and goes by the model “u003ca href=u0022https://www.richardmille.com/historical-models/rm-56-01-tourbillon-sapphireu0022u003eRM56-01 Tourbillon Sapphireu003c/au003e.” However, it’s not the most expensive watch in the world.u003cbru003eu003cbru003ePatek Philippe sits at the top of the world’s most expensive watch brand list with its Grandmaster Chime collection. Shockingly, one watch in this collection was sold for $31 million at an auction.

What Is the Cheapest Richard Mille?

Why Are Richard Mille Watches So Expensive

Although there’s no cheap Richard Mille, the lowest-priced Richard Mille watch costs around $60,000 MSRP. However, the same watch is priced at $85,000 in the pre-owned market.

The model name of this watch is RM 016 Automatic Winding Extra Flat, and it comes with specs including:

  • 30m water resistant
  • Silicone strap
  • Stainless steel and titanium case
  • Skeleton dial
  • RMAS7 caliber
  • 55 hours of power reserve
  • Automatic movement
  • 32 jewels

Is Richard Mille Hard To Get?

Richard Mille produces a limited number of watches per year, which doesn’t exceed the limit of 3,000 pieces worldwide. With the high global demand and quite limited supply, you can describe Richard Mille watches as hard to get.u003cbru003eu003cbru003eIn fact, the waiting list at Richard Mille boutiques is so long that it may take a person up to two years to buy a brand-new watch.

Who Is the CEO of Richard Mille?

Richard Mille is the chairman and CEO of the Swiss luxury watch company Richard Mille. At the age of 50, Richard (born in 1951 in France) decided to create his own watch brand. He wanted to go up and beyond with the watch-making industry.u003cbru003eu003cbru003eRichard Mille aimed to create cutting-edge technology and bold designs without regard for cost. In less than 20 years, Richard managed to compete with luxury brands like Rolex and u003ca href=u0022https://www.audemarspiguet.com/com/de/home.htmlu0022u003eAudemars Piguetu003c/au003e.

Does Richard Mille Cost a Lambo?

Why Are Richard Mille Watches So Expensive 2023? The Surprising Truth

Richard Mille watches can come with relatively high prices, mostly surpassing the $2 million mark. So, as Meek Mill says in his song “u003ca href=u0022https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S1gp0m4B5p8u0022u003egoing badu003c/au003e,” Richard Mille indeed costs a Lambo.

How Much Is the Cheapest Rolex?

Whether new or preowned, the cheapest Rolex is one of the Oyster Perpetual models. It’s the first waterproof watch Rolex made, and it comes with a perpetually winding rotor inside.u003cbru003eu003cbru003eFor an u003ca href=u0022https://www.rolex.com/watches/oyster-perpetual/m276200-0001.htmlu0022u003eOyster Perpetual reference 276200u003c/au003e women’s Rolex, you can pay as little as $5,300. On the other hand, the men’s u003ca href=u0022https://www.rolex.com/watches/oyster-perpetual/m126000-0002.htmlu0022u003eOyster Rolex reference 126000u003c/au003e, costs $5,800.

What Watch Costs More Than a Rolex?

The priciest Rolex watch costs $7.8 million, but it surely isn’t the most expensive watch ever. A few watches cost more than a Rolex, ranging between $25–$55 million. Take a look at the top three most expensive watches.

  • Patek Philippe Grandmaster Chime Reference 6300A-010: Patek Philippe is the most expensive luxury watch brand. As mentioned above, Patek Philippe’s highest-priced watch costs $31 million.
  • Graff Diamonds The Fascination: Although not a watch manufacturer, Graff Diamond, the British jeweler, owns the two most expensive watches in the world. The Fascination watch model is one of them, costing $40 million. It’s truly “a fascination.”
  • Graff Diamonds Hallucination: This is the most expensive watch ever made, priced at $55 million. Graff Diamonds Hallucination is a platinum bracelet watch featuring 110 carats of differently cut and colored diamonds.

Disclosure: We only recommend products we would use ourselves and all opinions expressed here are our own. This post may contain affiliate links that we may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you.

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Elisa
Elisa

Elisa Steffes reviews designer fashion brands and elegant pieces for a living. She also loves Old Money Brands and is passionate about writing about topics related to this classic style.
She has close to 3 years of experience in SEO and has taken the Streetstylis Pinterest account to one of the most popular magazines on Pinterest and Instagram.
When she's not working, you'll find her doing Pilates, dancing or hanging out with her friends in Malta.

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